Serving Bread

I came across an article in “Fortune” about hotelier Ian Schrager (”Fortune”, November 26, 2007, Page 44). As chairman and CEO of his own company in the hotel industry, he is a busy man. “Fortune” interviewed him regarding how his work habits that I thought were helpful and insightful.

First, he manages accesses of communication. Only a few people “at the highest levels” have his BlackBerry address. He said that he changes his address about once a year because over the course of time, that exclusivity gets eroded. There is some wisdom in not allowing everyone to have access to us all the time. In an age where it is easy to get connected and be found in multiple ways, there is some wisdom to limit access. First, it increases the value when we do give access to certain people and second, it allows us to have a better way of controlling how we use our time. Steven Covey in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People contrasts the important with the urgent. Every form of communication feels urgent to me all the time, and I wonder if there is some wisdom in learning how to manage the various ways people can get in touch with us. For example, I have email, AIM, Facebook, cell-phone, and a house-line. Is there a way to use these mediums in a way that would make me more effective? Am I making it more difficult to have a rhythm of work and life to prioritize the important?

Second, he only calls meetings that are necessary. In other words, people are not meeting for the sake of meetings. As a leader who attends meetings and often has to run meetings, this is an important insight for me. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time and I want to make sure to run excellent meetings where people leave having been blessed by those meetings.

Third, Schrager values being on the field and not at his desk. He said, “I fight not to get absorbed by administrative detail and turn into a desk jockey.” Though this principle isn’t as relevant for me since I’m “on the field” a lot (I’m even considered “field staff” by the national organization), I do have plenty of administrative details at hand. What I have been trying to do is to do most of my work on campus rather than at home. Whether it is responding to email, preparing a Bible Study, planning a meeting, or even meeting with my supervisor, I have done a lot of those things on campus among students. I find that I accomplish more and that my vision and passion remain focused on the campus.

Fourth, he stays relevant with pop culture. This should be a no-brainer for people in ministry, particularly among youth. He is a pop-culture anthropologist. He doesn’t just get interested in a new fad, but he reflects why is is a phenomenon. He said, “[Fads] are a manifestation of something going on in our culture.” The better anthropologist I am of my culture, the better I can articulate a relevant gospel.

Fifth, he makes lists. Every Sunday, he plans out the coming week and makes a list of all the things that need to get done for the week. He has both a long-term and a short-term list. He even uses different colored pens to indicate the priority of the things that need to get done. I once heard a management coach say that an hour spent planning once a week will save several hours of inefficiency during the week. There is a lot of truth to that. The times when I have planned out my coming week and created to do lists and planned them in, I have found myself most satisfied with my rhythm of rest and work.

Finally, Schrager values vacations. In other words rest is important, not to just veg out, but he finds that rest makes him much more effective at what he does. He has the luxury of taking a vacation every six weeks. I’m not sure I can do that, but I can take a prayer retreat every couple months and vacations a couple times a year. Physiologists tell us that our bodies grow when we rest (sleep). I think it’s true that we often grow when we have space to get away and get perspective on our work, our ministry, our leadership and our personal life.

Schrager drops some helpful insights. They are by no means the final say on staying efficient. I appreciate what this 61 year old leader has learned of management and leadership.

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